Wow. What a little stunner. I played this 1973 cut during my second set at Morseland this past Thursday. Such a quality Chicago cut. Arranged by the mighty, mighty Tom Tom Washington (who later worked with the likes of Earth, Wind, & Fire), this was co-written by Lee Charles with Lowrell Simon [from the group The Lost Generation (famous for the hit “Sly, Slick, & Wicked”), and, later, Lowrell (famous for “Mellow, Mellow, Right On”)].
Lee Charles also wrote songs for Jerry Butler’s famous Workshop in the early 70’S. Beautiful early appearance of some spacey Moog sounds and some solid truth.
Tag Archives: soul music
I Just Want to Be Loved: Lee Charles breaks it all the way down.
Oscar Brown, Jr.’s Work Song
I love the breadth and depth of Oscar Brown Jr.’s work. A prolific singer, songwriter, playwright, and activist, he was also a born and bred Chicagoan. The cut below “Work Song”, is from his first LP, 1960’s “Sin and Soul” which he recorded in his mid-thirties. He was a father of five at the time of his debut. I love how simple the arrangement is on the track, and yet, it still SWINGS…..jive on.
Brown wrote at least 1,000 songs (only 125 have been published), twelve albums, and over a dozen musical plays.